Steam trap



Feb. 12, 1929. 1,701,936

H. o. TRERICE STEAM TRAP Filed Dec. 10, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l I N V ENTOR. jizmrzt O. ,W-erz'ce ATTORNEY.

Feb. 12, 19299 1,701,936

H. o. TRERQCE STEAM TRA'P Filed Dec. 10, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

, ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 12, 1929.

STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD O, TRERICE, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

STEAM TRAP.

Application filed December 10, 1928.

rating water from steam or air and discharging'the Water into a reservoir.

An object of the invention is to provide mechanism associated with the exhaust valve actuating means of a steam trap for preventing uneven Wear of the valve and valve seat, thereby increasing the life of the trap, insuring a quieter operation and eliminating a good deal of servicing that is now necessary with the traps in general use.

A further object of the invention is to provide mechanism associated with the exhaust valve actuating means of a steam trap for partially rotating said valve at each operation of the valveto prevent uneven wear of the valve and valve seat.

These and other objects will be more apparent as the description progresses, in which like characters designate like parts in the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a steam trap, showing the valve open.

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a partial detail view in elevation of the bucket and propeller attached thereto.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the propeller.

In the steam traps at present on the market the valve is operated intermittently, and in time rut-s the valve or valve seat to such an extent, as to make it necessary to replace one or the other. as a remedy for this de- -lcct I provide a mechanism attached to the valve actuating means whereby the valve is given a partial rotation upon each intermittent operation of the valve so as to more evenly distribute the wear and to prevent the rutting oi the valve or valve seat.

The principal component parts of this im proved form of steam trap are 01" standard construction, and comprise the casing 10, the head 11 bolted to the casing with a plurality of bolts 12. The casing is provided with an:

interior chamber 13 serving as a liquid col lecting chamber or float chamber, and the intake port 14, which is preferably pipe threaded forreceiving the union or fitting 1.5 which is in communication with the steam power plant (not shown). The head 11 of the steam trap is provided with the central opening 16 which is provided with internal threads and receives the depending tubular sleeve member Serial No, 153,867.

17 which extends well down into the chamber Secured interiorly of the head 11 and progectmg upwardly is a dome member 18 which carries a reversible fixture 19 provided with the passageway 20 therethrough. A cap 21 is removably secured to the head 11 to permit access to be had to the interior of the trap when necessary.

A bucket is contained within the chamber 13, and as the water flows into the chamber 13 the water will overflow into the bucket and cause the bucket to sink. Exteriorly of the bucket, at the bottom, I provide a propeller 23 which comprises a plurality of inclined blades 23 constructed of a casting or a stamping. This propeller is provided with an internally threaded central hole, the valve stem 24: being screwed into the propeller and provided with theshoulder 25 which bears against the washer 26 on the inside of the bucket so that as the valve stem 1s screwed down it will tightly clamp the propeller against the bottom of the bucket.-

This valve stem is guided in the perforated end plates, 2? soldered or otherwise secured to the depending sleeve 17, and is provided at its upper end with the valve 28 arranged to seat against the fixture 19 and close the passageway 20. p

In the operation of the steam trap the water first flows into the chamber 13 and fills up this chamber until it overflows into the bucket 22, which bucket normally floats within the chamber 13 maintaining the valve closed. As the bucket fills up the buoyancy oi? the bucket will be overcome in addition to the pressure tending to hold the valve on its seat, and it will sink, carrying with it the valve stem and retracting the valve oil its seat to open the discharge port so as to permit the water to flow through the passageway 20 and thence out through the outlet port 30. The pressure on the intake side must be higher than the pressure on the out let side, this differential in pressure forcing the water upwardly through the sleeve 17, out through the passageway 20 and thence out the ou let port The level of the water in the bucket will fall until it reaches approximately the level indicated by the dot and dashline 31., at which time the buoyancy of the bucket is sufiicient to overcome the weight of the bucket and of the water in the bucket, thereby permitting the bucket to rise, to close the exhaust port.

As the bucket sinks at the first part oi? the casing provided with a float chamber and with an mtake and chscharge port, a valve.

ment to the bucket andvalve stem so that:

when the bucket rises again to close the exhaust port the valve 28 will seat in a different relative position on the valve seat than it did before. This partial rotational move ment is imparted to the valve upon each operation, andas a result the wear is distributed around the valve and the tendency of the valve or valve seat to rut or wearin one spot is decreased. v

As the bucket rises the water'in the chamber 13 will obviously be sucked back past the propeller blades to some extent and impart an additional rotative movement to the valve stem and valve as the bucket rises, though due to the fact that the bottom of the bucket serves as a deflector for the water this movement will not be as great as when the bucket sinks in the water during the opening movement of the valve. As the valveseats on the valve seat this slow rot'ative movement of the valve causes the valve to grind slightly on the seat, and as a result, the valve seat is sub- 'is'sufiicient weight to overcome this pressure to unseat the valve. I

What I claim is: i Q 1. In a steam trap, the combination of a for closing said discharge port, a bucket within said chamber and connected with the valve, said valve maintained closed by the buoyancy of the bucket and the pressure on the intake side of the trap, said bucket arranged to sink in said chamber when the water overflows in the bucket and the level in the bucket rises sufficiently to overcome the pressure and the buoyancy of the bucket, and a propeller carried by said bucket externally thereof and connected with said valve, said propeller actuated by the movement of water in said float chamber relative to the bucket as the bucket sinks to partially rotate'the bucket and valve,-so as to permit the valve ,to be seated in a different relative position to distribute the wear onsaid valve and valve seat.

2. In a steam trap, the combination of a casing provided Witha float ehamber and with an intake and discharge port, a valve for closing said discharge port and provided With avalve stem having a reduced threaded end portion, a bucket normally buoyed up by the water in said chamber and connected tosaid valve stem for maintaining'the valve closed, the pressure on the intake side applied to said valve to provideadditional force for holdingthe valve closed, said bucket arranged to sink in said chamber when the water overflows therein and reaches a level sufficient to overcome the pressure and the buoyancy of the bucket'to retract the valve stem and valve, a propeller secured to said valve stem and located underneath thebucket, the valvestem threaded through a perforation in the bottom of the bucket'and the reduced end of the stem screwed into the propeller, thereby clamping the bucket between the propeller and the shoulder on the valve stem formed by said reduced threaded end of' said'stem, the propeller actuated by the rush of water past the bucket as the bucket sinks to partially rotate the bucket and valve, so as to permit the valve to be seated in a different relative position to distribute the fined path "as the same is discharged, and

means unaffected by the incoming fluid and located externally of saiddefined water path for rotating said valve While thevalve is unseated to distribute the wear on the valve and valve seat,

4. In a steam trap the combination of a" casing provided with a float chamber having an inlet port and an outlet port, a valve for closing said outlet port, means including a bucket for confining the Water to a defined pathasthe same is discharged from said float chamber, and means unaifected by the incoming fluid and located eXteriorly of the bucket and externally of said defined path for rotating said valve While the valve is unseated .to distribute the wear on the valve and valve seat.

5. In a steam trap,'the combination of a casing provided with a float chamber having an inlet port and an outlet port, valve for closing said .outletport, means including a bucket for confining the water to a defined path interiorly of the bucket as the same is discharged from said float chamber, said bucket rigidly attached to said valve, and

-means carried externally of said bueketand actuated by'the relative movement between said bucket andthe Water serving as a buoyant medium for said bucket to impart a ro tational movement to said bucket and valve attaehed'thereto to distribute the wear on the valve and valve seat. 7 i

6.In a steam trap, the combination of a casing provided with a float chamber having an inlet port and an outlet 'port, a valve for closing said outlet port, a bucket withinsaid float chamberand ri idly attached to said valve, and a propeller secured to'the underneath side ofsaid bucket arranged to impart rotational movement to said bucket and valve attached thereto as the bucket sinks in said float. chamber and While the valve is unseated to distribute the wear on the valve and valve seat.

7. In a steam trap, the combination of a casing provided with a float chamber and with an intake and discharge port, a valve for closing said discharge port, a float se- 10 cured to said valve and located Within said HOWARD O. TRERIOE. 

